LAS VEGAS — One of the storylines entering UFC 324 was whether Justin Gaethje would retire after facing Paddy Pimblett on Saturday night.
Looks like Gaethje has plenty left if he wants to continue his career.
Gaethje, who was an All-American wrestler at the University of Northern Colorado, went after Pimblett from the beginning, his aggressiveness leading to a unanimous decision and upset victory for the interim lightweight title.
“My coach was definitely upset with me after the first round,” Gaethje said. “I love this (stuff) so much, it’s really hard to control myself sometimes. I knew that I had to put him on his back foot. He is very dangerous, got great timing. I had to steal momentum and his confidence. I had to work really hard in the first round. Champions move forward.”
In the first UFC fight card on Paramount+, the judges awarded Gaethje (27-5) the victory by scores of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46. The Associated Press scored it 48-47 for Gaethje.
Pimblett (23-4) was a -250 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook.
In the co-main event, third-ranked bantamweight challenger Sean O’Malley (19-3) of Phoenix defeated No. 5 Song Yadong (22-9-1) of China by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 29-28. O’Malley appeared in real trouble before putting together his strongest round in the third.
UFC CEO and President Dana White said the Paramount viewership numbers will come out Tuesday or Wednesday, but the early results were more than promising.
“This exceeded expectations beyond belief for Paramount,” White said. “We know it killed it. They’re saying it exceeded expectations by double. We’ve got a real good feeling we’re going to have a great relationship for seven years.”
Gaethje and Pimblett waged a physical and bloody fight. White said Pimblett was sent to a hospital but that Gaethje refused to go.
“I wanted that belt, but there’s no other man I would rather lose to,” Pimblett said. “For me, it’s the idea of someone I’ve loved watching growing up watching the UFC. It shows why he’s a legend right there.”
The combatants weren’t the only ones injured. Referee Mark Smith was carried out of the octagon after tearing an ACL while officiating the Ateba Gautier-Andrey Pulyaev bout.
Gaethje, a 37-year-old who fights out of Denver, landed a series of punches about a minute and a half into the fight and took Pimblett to the mat. The pounding continued in the second round when Gaethje took the 31-year-old Englishman down three times. On the third time, with about 30 seconds left, Gaethje was relentless in landings blows on Pimblett’s face.
But Pimblett began to find his game in the third round despite bleeding by his right eye. He connected with enough punches while remaining standing to get back into the bout.
At least temporarily.
A strong combination by Gaethje midway through the fourth turned the fight back into his favor. Even though he was taken to the floor late in the round, it was Gaethje who pounded Pimblett’s face. Each approached the fifth as if he didn’t want to leave it in the judge’s hands, and Pimblett put together a combination with about a minute left.
The crowd stood to applaud both fighters when the final bell rang, a tribute to the entertaining and action-filled bout.
The way this card came together might not have been what White had in mind when putting together first Paramount+ card, and there were issues right up until fight day.
A bout between fourth-ranked challenger (Gaethje) against the fifth-ranked one (Pimblett) wouldn’t be ideal for the headline event in any numbered card, particularly to kick off the seven-year relationship with Paramount. And then to put the interim belt on the line could seem a bit of a reach.
But both also are fan favorites, Gaethje for his renowned skill and willingness to take on anyone and Pimblett as a rising star who could be one of the primary faces of the UFC. In the end, the show they put on probably will overshadow any other concerns about the card.
“I told (Pimblett) right now I was where you were not too long ago,” Gaethje said. “It’s a crazy sport and a (flipping) amazing life. I’m so grateful to share it with you guys (the fans).”
But a number of factors led to this scenario. Reigning champion Ilia Topuria has taken a leave of absence for personal reasons, top-ranked challenger Arman Tsarukyan is recovering from a back injury and No. 2 Charles Oliveira and No. 3 Max Holloway are scheduled to fight each other at UFC 326 on March 7.
The UFC at least had hoped to put on a co-main event that by itself would have drawn a lot of attention. But neck surgery forced women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison to withdraw from her scheduled bout with Amanda Nunes. It was quite a blow to the card considering Nunes, a Hall of Famer and former two-division champion, had come out of retirement to accept this fight. She came anyway, watching the action with her two daughters.
Then on Friday, bantamweight fighter Cameron Smotherman collapsed after weighing in, forcing cancellation of his match with Ricky Turcios. A lightweight fight between Michael Johnson and Alexander Hernandez was removed from the schedule on Saturday after the UFC’s betting integrity service notified the organization of a potential wagering problem.
“So we pulled the fight,” White said.
The UFC had put its numbered cards on pay-per-view, but the organization signed a seven-year deal with Paramount in August that now airs those and other events on the subscription-based streaming service. CBS will simulcast some events.
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